This invention relates, in general, to an article for holding flexible sacks and more particularly, to an article for holding in an upright and open position, a grocery bag of the type made from a flexible plastic film.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with plastic grocery bags, as an example.
Heretofore, in this field, grocery stores, as well as other retail stores, have packed goods purchased by the shopper in paper bags. Paper bags provided a convenient means for carrying groceries directly to the shopper""s residence, or vehicle for the trip home. Once the groceries were unloaded from the paper bags, the bags were useful as receptacles for accumulating garbage and other refuse, prior to disposal of the refuse. For this purpose, the bags were used either standing alone, or inserted as liners into waste containers.
In relatively recent times, the paper grocery bag has begun to be replaced by bags made of a flexible plastic film. Plastic bags have been touted by large supermarkets and similar retail stores as being the wave of the future, and a great convenience to shoppers. It has been found, however, that some shoppers have disagreed with that assessment, on the grounds that plastic bags are not bio-degradable and that the plastic bags will not remain in an upright position in their cars. Nonetheless, when the relative merits of paper bags versus plastic bags are weighed, it seems clear that economic considerations apparently dictate that plastic bags will be dispensed with increasing frequency by stores. It has also been found that plastic grocery bags by themselves are not practically useable as trash receptacles, in that they collapse into a limp pile when placed unsupported on the floor.
Several prior attempts have been made to design a holder for plastic grocery bags such as those describe in U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,734 to Schmidt (the ""734 patent), U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,474 to Swenson (the ""474 patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,634 to Hambleton (the ""634 patent). The ""734 patent discloses a plastic grocery bag holder including a pair of thin, uniform cross-section end panels and at least one pair of thin, uniform cross-section side rails. A cutout in the upper portion of each end panel has one or more downwardly projecting tabs for receiving each handle loop of a flexible plastic bag such that the bag may be retained in an open, upright position within the holder.
The ""474 patent is directed to a plastic grocery bag holder having a body portion terminating in a base and a pair of integral handles. The holder includes a horizontally disposed base member, a pair of oppositely-disposed, upwardly-projecting side wall members, each of which is attached at its lower end to the base member, an upwardly projecting rear wall member, wherein each vertical edge of the rear wall member is attached to a vertical edge of each of the side wall members and pair of spaced-apart ears projecting above the upper edges of each of the side wall members, wherein the space between the ears extends downwardly into each of the side wall members.
The ""634 patent is directed to a plastic grocery bag holder having a pair of integral handles and a body portion terminating in a base portion. The holder has a horizontally disposed base member, a pair of oppositely-disposed, upwardly-projecting side wall members, which are attached at their lower ends to the base member, an upwardly projecting rear wall member, wherein each vertical edge of the rear wall member is attached to a vertical edge of each of the side wall members and a pair of spaced apart protuberances that are affixed to the outer side, and near the upper edge, of each of the side wall members.
Each of the above described plastic grocery bag holders, however, suffers from the same shortcomings specifically, the need to stretch the handles of the plastic bag around tabs, ears or protuberances in order to obtain a secure attachment to the holder. As such, the use of these plastic grocery bag holders requires a high degree of dexterity.
Therefore, a need has arisen for an improved article for holding in an upright and open position, a grocery bag of the type made from a flexible plastic film. A need has also arisen for such a holder that allows for the easy placement and removal of the plastic grocery bag on the holder without the need to stretch the handles of the plastic bag around tabs, ears or protuberances to maintaining the plastic bag securely within the holder.
The present invention disclosed herein comprises an article for holding in an upright and open position, a grocery bag of the type made from a flexible plastic film. The plastic grocery bag holder of the present invention allows for easy placement and removal of the plastic grocery bag on the holder without the need to stretch the handles of the plastic bag around tabs, ears or protuberances to maintaining the plastic bag securely within the holder.
The plastic grocery bag holder of the present invention comprises a base, an upper frame, a vertical support member extending between the base and the upper frame member and a pair of handle receiving members. The handle receiving members are rotatably mounted to the upper frame member for disposition within the handles of the plastic bag. The base of the holder may be formed by the bottom surface of the vertical support members, a base frame, or may be a horizontally disposed bottom wall. The vertical support member may be a pair of side walls, a front wall and a rear wall or may be two pair of generally symmetrically arranged legs.
Each rotatable handle receiving member includes a pair of rotatable arms that may operate together or independently of one another. The arms have two operating positions. First, the arms may be placed in a generally vertical position for receiving and removing the plastic bag from the holder. Second, the arms may be rotated a predetermined angle from vertical for securing the plastic bag within the holder. In addition, the rotation of the arms creates translational movement of the arms such that the distance between the arms in each pair of arms is greater in the second position than in the first position. As such, the bag may be placed in the holder without stretching the handles of the bag. The rotation and associated translation of the arm then stretches the handles of the bag, thereby holding the plastic bag in an upright and open position.